Time Bomb
by Otaku Neko Ninja Miko Tenshi
Summary: "Sometimes she could hear a clock in her head: tick, tock, tick, tock..." – a Luna-centric poem set when she is eleven-years-old. Muggle-Ruled!AU, Driven-out-of-Hogwarts!AU.


**Author: Otaku Neko Ninja Miko Tenshi **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**—For **_The Dance Competition_** (samba); **_The "May The Odds Always Be In Your Favour" Challenge_** (**3, 18, 25, 26, 40)**; **_Greek Mythology Mega Prompt Challenge_ **(Selene); **_Harry Potter Chapter Competition_** (Luna Lovegood); **_Pick a Card, Any Card Challenge_** (Four of Spades); **_A Variety of Prompts Challenge_ **(quotes, writing style, HP word); **_The Lolita Challenge_** (gloves); **_The Anime Alphabet Challenge_** (J);** _All Those Characters Challenge** (Luna Lovegood)**_**; **_Pokemon Journey Challenge_**; **_FanFicWriMo Challenge_**; **_As Much As You Can Competition_**; **_The Competitions Competition_**; **_The Challenge Ticketing Challenge_**; **_The Competitions Competition Expanded_**.—**

**WARNINGS: character death, worm-eating and witch-burning.**

* * *

><p><em>(Sometimes she could hear a clock in her head:<em>

_Tick, tock, tick, tock...)_

* * *

><p>She'd always loved bonfires,<br>The wood-smoke smell  
>And how the embers are lifted<br>In an upward swirl  
>Like a cyclone of autumn leaves.<p>

_It's raining, it's pouring..._

Those odd muggle cathedrals as well,  
>Now that she thinks about it.<br>Daddy had such a fondness for them  
>The architecture<br>Such a silly-billy daddy he was, bless him  
>There's more to life than art.<p>

_London Bridge is falling down..._

She was hiding in one now, a church that is  
>A pretty little holy building,<br>Tucked away in a corner of the woods somewhere  
>She talks to it on the occasion;<br>Nobody, **nobody**, can find us now...

_Hickory-Dickory-Dock..._

She misses her papa, Xenophilius Lovegood,  
>Even his love of quirky magicless churches.<br>He's gone now, to see Mama, or so he had said  
>But that was all okay-<br>"Soon," he'd promised "Then we'll see Pandora."  
>Although, how long is 'soon'?<p>

_Men, men, men, men-men-men-men..._

Got to stay productive though, she reminds herself  
>Cleaning the church from top to bottom<br>Though a little damp, the tree leaves work really well!  
>She treats herself to a bout of exploration<br>How she had missed such small, yet priceless activities.

_Ten green bottles..._

She's tired of eating worms for breakfast  
>They're good for nutrients and all,<br>But not so much for taste, nuh-uh, not at all  
>She misses her wand<br>Poor worms. She buries their heads.

_Raindrops on roses..._

Soon there are no heads left over  
>So she mourns them<br>Survival of the fittest, as they say  
>Slipping them down her neck,<br>She continues to whisper, "I'm sorry,"

_Lala, la la, lalalala, l-lala, la, la la, la laaa..._

Her time has come.

* * *

><p>She's been expecting them for some time<br>The muggles from the village nearby,  
>All pointed pitchforks and flaming torches<br>Not unlike an animated bonfire wave

They don't come inside,  
>But still she stays,<br>A jump, preening, pirouetting  
>A tiny ballerina.<br>"We're friends," she tells the church  
>"And friends stick together."<p>

It takes some time, but the curses  
>They melt away at last<br>Fading into the background  
>As fire licks at the walls,<br>She weeps the loss of the structure.

Perhaps she's more of a pixie at heart,  
>She muses as a gale sweeps past<br>Her robes are alight with phoenix colours;  
>Regardless, she rides the wind<br>"So this is the soon I've waited for, then?"  
>"Goodbye, my friend."<p>

* * *

><p><em>(The clock strives on:<em>

_Tick, tock, tick, tock...)_

* * *

><p><strong>(Word count: 438)<strong>

_*Chosen prompts: write about a **lively character** in **poetry** form; Epica's song **"This is the Time"**, write about someone **savouring a moment** [dancing], **Luna Lovegood**, write about a **conflict in which one person does not seem to care about the topic at all **[hiding], jump); write about **Luna**; alternatively, write about **Luna Lovegood**; **"I don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things, could be bad." inspiration**, **poem**, **wand**; write about someone **hiding something** [herself]; write **anything**; write about **Luna Lovegood**; write about someone doing their **favourite activity** (exploring)*_

**Author's Note: I quite enjoy writing Luna, just as much as I do Ginny -hum-. The bonfire reference alludes to what my mind was sketching on the fifth of November (Bonfire Night) ^_^**

**-ONNMT**


End file.
